Silicon Valley spent big to kill California’s wealth tax — but incoming Democrats are eyeing a national fight A ballot measure that would have created a first-of-its-kind wealth tax on billionaires appears headed for defeat in California, concluding a costly campaign that prompted some super-rich residents to leave the state. Proposition 40 looked poised to fail as of Wednesday afternoon. With 60% of the vote counted, “no” votes were ahead by a 55.6% to 44.4% margin, according to the .
The AP did not declare a winner, but if the margin holds, the defeat averts a one-time 5% tax on the paper wealth of billionaires, including their stock portfolios, art collections and business stakes. But ultrarich Americans were still arguably a step closer to seeing higher tax bills on Wednesday than they had been a day earlier, according to experts surveying state ballot measures and the Democratic blue wave that’s coming to Washington, D.C. A renewed push on higher taxes for wealthy Americans would be a counterpunch to a sweeping 2025 Republican tax law that kept most income-tax rates — including the top rate — from increasing.
It also comes at a time when wealth inequality is widening, according to Federal Reserve data. Don’t Short Yourself offers weekly money tips to help you earn it, stack it and grow it. I would like to receive updates and special offers from Dow Jones and affiliates.
I can unsubscribe at any time. Start with the state income-tax measures targeting high earners this midterm season. In Washington state, an effort to repeal a 9.9% income taxon millionaires didn’t appear to have enough votes, with “no” votes ahead by an approximate 58% to 42% margin as of Wednesday afternoon, the AP said.
In Colorado, voters seemed to be leaning toward higher income-tax rates on households starting at $500,000. The vote was still close as of Wednesday, with “yes” votes at 50.49%, according to the Colorado secretary of state’s office. Through a separate ballot measure in California, voters appeared likely to keep the state’s income-tax rates higher for the state’s richest residents even as they rejected the one-time 5% wealth tax for billionaires.
El-Sayed is among the Democrats who will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in January. Even if California’s Proposition 40 doesn’t pass, it will still have accomplished something for backers of a wealth tax, said Andrew Lokay, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors.
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